Heibon (平凡 - Ordinary)

Jun 6, 2019 20:58
Heibon

To describe that someone/something is ordinary and insipid, you can use the Japanese word 'heibon' (平凡).

Both 'hei' (平) and 'bon' (凡) mean that something is ordinary.

That is to say, 'heibon' is a word made by combining two characters that have the same meaning.

If you want to emphasize that something is not special, you can say 'heihei bonbon' (平平凡凡/平々凡々) by repeating themselves.

Incidentally, the antonym of 'heibon' is 'hibon' (非凡 - "extraordinary"); here the 'hi' (非) is a negative word.
平凡

特に優れた点もなく並なことを「平凡」と言います。

「平」も「凡」も、何かが並であることや、あたりまえであることを意味します。

すなわち「平凡」は、似た意味の漢字を合成して作られた語というわけです。

平凡であることを強調したい場合は、「平平凡凡」「平々凡々」のように言います。

ちなみに、「平凡」の対義語は「非凡」で、何かが特に優れていることを意味します。
No. 1　Aitherguard's correction
  • Heibon (平凡 - Ordinary)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Heibon
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • To describe that someone/something is ordinary and insipid, you can use the Japanese word 'heibon' (平凡).
  • To describe that someone/something is ordinary and dull, you can use the Japanese word 'heibon' (平凡).
    　I changed (insipid) to (dull) for this sentence. The reason for this change is that (insipid) isn't used as often as a word like (dull). You can use either of the two words since they both have the same meaning.
  • Both 'hei' (平) and 'bon' (凡) mean that something is ordinary.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • That is to say, 'heibon' is a word made by combining two characters that have the same meaning.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • If you want to emphasize that something is not special, you can say 'heihei bonbon' (平平凡凡/平々凡々) by repeating themselves.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Incidentally, the antonym of 'heibon' is 'hibon' (非凡 - "extraordinary"); here the 'hi' (非) is a negative word.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
excellent journal entry. Your topic was very interesting. Keep up the good work practicing English.
Toru
Thank you so much for the correction!
I'm glad to hear you say that! (^^)
Aitherguard
You're welcome, I am happy that I was able to help you. =)
No. 2　sjstrauss's correction
  • Heibon
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • To describe that someone/something is ordinary and insipid, you can use the Japanese word 'heibon' (平凡).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Both 'hei' (平) and 'bon' (凡) mean that something is ordinary.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • That is to say, 'heibon' is a word made by combining two characters that have the same meaning.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • If you want to emphasize that something is not special, you can say 'heihei bonbon' (平平凡凡/平々凡々) by repeating themselves.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Incidentally, the antonym of 'heibon' is 'hibon' (非凡 - "extraordinary"); here the 'hi' (非) is a negative word.
  • Incidentally, the antonym of 'heibon' is 'hibon' (非凡 - "extraordinary"); here the 'hi' (非) is a negative word (so the characters are "not" and "ordinary").
    　Although it's probably okay to leave it off, I think this additional explanation helps the reader understand that "negative" means "anti" here, rather than "bad".

    "Antonym" hints at that, but since "bad" is one of the main meanings/senses of "negative", it doesn't hurt to clarify further.
Interesting; 平凡 is a word I only recently learned, but I didn't know it had that sort of negative nuance. I don't know that I ever would have used it over something like 普段, but that is still good to know ^^; .
Toru
Thank you so much for the correction!
Yes, please do not use 平凡 to someone in front of you. :)
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